Miike Snow fans — especially those who have continually rewatched their epically strange "Paddling Out" video in search of the meaning of life — will instantly recognize the band's recurrent character Jean Noel. Everyone else will be left wondering: Who's the dude with the big schnoz? "Pretender" features our hero experiencing all the perks of L.A.'s HARD Festival, including an on-stage romp with the band. --> watch "Pretender"
Think of this as the bizarro version of America's Got Talent, where appreciating the talent requires a more refined eye, and instead of commercials, the only breaks are for soul-searching vision quests. --> watch "This Head I Hold"
The vocalist for Electric Guest is Asa Taccone, and he looks familiar because his brother is Jorma — famous for being on boats and pants soiling for SNL/Lonely Island. With that pedigree, this video may at first seem oddly downbeat and not obviously funny. It starts out seeming to be about savage jealousy at a party, but as things play out, it becomes clear that a serious jonesing for accessories of all kinds is the cause. And in my mind, watching the singer attack people for their scarves and ironically cool fur hats is really funny - and possibly a commentary on materialism as it applies to our American Daydream.
Gawker has the background on all that is wonderful and absurd about this ninja sword dance video, which is really the feel good story of the Internet age: Filmmaker Kyle Frere posted a video featuring a Major Lazer song. People saw it, were captivated by it. Band saw it, loved it. And soon it got extened and made into the proper video for the track. --> watch "Original Don"
It's hard not to flash back to Axl Rose getting off the bus and wandering into the L.A. jungle when you see the opening scenes of this new CSS video. Singer Lovefoxxx gets to NYC, gets rid of her small town garb and starts flashing her style all over the city. --> watch "City Grrl"
Penguin Prison, aka sweet singing electro artist Chris Glover, proves that the Occupy Wall Street movement is more civilized and more accepting of disco music than the fans of the Chicago Wall Street. Perhaps the song title "Don't Fuck With My Money" helps, but Glover emerges totally unscathed as he brings some pop escapism to the OWS crowds. --> watch "Don't Fuck With My Money"
This video is so good that the less I say about it the better, except that is amazing and can be summed up with the word "crotchface." --> watch "Big Bad Wolf"
A bunch of suburban kids playing guns seems harmless enough, until cartoon animation fills in the imagined violence. The kiddies re-enact drug deals gone wrong, urban ambushes, shoot-outs and even beheadings and suicide bombers that's all pretend, but clearly the product of our bloodthirsty age. --> watch "The Greeks"
Is Tropical "The Greeks" (Kitsune/Co-op/Downtown)Megaforce, director | Seven, animator | El Nino, production co
It's a scattershot of colorful camp for this new Scissor Sisters video with director Ace Norton's imagination living up to the song title, "Any Which Way". Some of the directions explored here include nudity strategically obscured by various objects, samurai swordplay, rock 'n' roll fantasies, color-coded megaphones and a whole lot of other stuff that makes perfect sense while making no sense at all. --> watch "Any Which Way"
This video is kind of like "Single Ladies" on Quaaludes. Or, imagine if Kraftwerk appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Clearly referencing old time TV pop/rock performances — think Ronettes "Be My Baby" — the Surround production team lets the moddish boys of The Drums perform a very slowly slow mimed performance (with time code, so you know exactly how slow it all is). --> watch "Down By The Water"
